As soon as Hua Xiangyun entered the courtyard, she found that her neighbors were unusually enthusiastic today, and they all greeted her with smiles and a few words.

What should have been a short distance of just a few dozen meters took her more than half an hour to walk.

"Xiangyun, you did well on the exam this time. I've always known you were a good student. I'll have my little sister study with you for a couple of days sometime. I don't expect her to do as well as you, but I'd be happy if she could get into a vocational school or junior college."

"I'm telling you, you're too demanding. Don't you even consider how old your daughter is?"

Let's talk about this after she gets into high school.

"Xiangyun, come over to my place for dinner today. I'll stew some fish for you..."

"What's so special about your fish? Xiangyun's grandfather catches fish every day. Maybe the child is already tired of eating fish. Come here, my wife made some good braised pork. I'll ask her to go and get a piece of meat so your two younger brothers can have a drink with you."

"Hey Old Wang, that's a bit unfair of you. Everyone knows your kid's graduating high school next year. I could hear you plotting this all over the backyard..."

"It's as if you don't have a plan. I, Old Wang, am a man of my word, but what about you?"

Who has been waiting outside the Hua family's house every day these past few days? It's all for the study materials of the siblings.

Your children still go to school every day, but how many of them actually pass the exams?

Let's not pretend the eldest brother doesn't speak ill of the second brother; does everyone really think we don't know what the other is thinking?

Everyone had the same goal: to get their hands on the Hua family's review materials.

Old Man Hua and Tian Guihua were both very shrewd; they immediately claimed they couldn't make the decision, and Hua Zhian and the others kept quiet about the matter.

Hua Xiangyun is usually a gentle and soft-spoken girl, and she just came back from the countryside, so she'll definitely be easier to talk to. That's why I thought I'd coax her into my home first, and then slowly bring it up with her.

But what kind of neighbors do they have? They can't have what they want, and they don't want others to have it either. All they want is to achieve their own goals and sabotage other people's plans.

Seeing that they were arguing, Hua Xiangyun quickly seized the opportunity and hurried back to her own home.

As soon as she entered, Tian Guihua, who had been waiting at the door, slammed the door shut.

The neighbors, having been completely outmaneuvered, were speechless. "...They were such good neighbors before...Tian Guihua has turned on us again..."

As soon as Tian Guihua closed the door, she saw her husband take her granddaughter's bicycle and park it in the corner.

“It’s best not to chat with these people these days; they’re all up to something.” Tian Guihua went over to help unload the things from the back seat of the car. “Didn’t I ask your older brother to bring back so much yesterday? Why are you carrying so much again? Don’t empty your master’s house.”

She knew exactly how much stuff her granddaughter had brought with her when she went there; after eating and staying at their place, she was expected to bring things home as well.

The more time Tian Guihua spent with her, the more she felt that Wu Shenpo was being taken advantage of.

Others who take on apprentices have filial apprentices, but she has to pay them out of her own pocket.

"It's alright, my master asked me to bring these back, and she's moving soon anyway." Hua Xiangyun felt that she couldn't keep this from her family, and since the old lady had brought it up, she mentioned it as well.

"I've never heard of this before. Where are you planning to move to?" Tian Guihua asked in surprise. Although Wu Shenpo lived in a remote area at the end of the county, she had her own house and was living a good life. Was it really necessary to make such a fuss?

“My master is going to the capital with me,” Hua Xiangyun said, revealing the dowry her master had given her. Tian Guihua and Hua Guangzong were so shocked that they were stunned for a long time.

They knew then that when Xiangyun got married, it was impossible for the witch doctor not to make a gesture.

However, these were all private matters between the master and his apprentice, and they didn't inquire further.

Now that they hear that several houses are being given away, how can they not be alarmed?

“This is too much,” Hua Guangzong felt uneasy. “This is more than what our family gave us. Why don’t you take a look and return it to your master first? Then your grandfather will pay for it to buy you a house in the capital.”

Anyway, he and his wife still have some retirement money saved up, which they can take out and give to the children first.

"No need, no need," Hua Xiangyun dared not agree. "Master has quite a few houses. He has tidied up the ones for me. I will take care of Master in his old age. There is no need to be so particular."

"That's only right," Hua Guangzong and the others understood this principle and were already prepared for it.

The old witch has no descendants, and now only has Xiangyun as her last disciple, who is also like her child. Therefore, Hua Xiangyun must take on the responsibility of caring for her in her old age.

“Even if your master didn’t give you anything, she taught you skills, and since you became her disciple, you have to take on the responsibilities that come with it,” Hua Guangzong instructed his granddaughter. “From now on, you should be even more devoted than your parents. Your parents have two older brothers, but your master only has you.”

Tian Guihua slapped his back and said, "These little darlings understand. Hurry up and bring the things inside, and see if the chicken soup in the pot is ready yet?"

Knowing that their child was coming back today, the elderly couple had brought back some vegetables from the countryside early in the morning.

"You saw it when you came in. All these documents in the house were found by you and Jiang Yi. What do you think we should do about them?" Tian Guihua's previous statement was not an excuse.

Although she is old, she is not senile.

The fact that the children in the family were able to pass the exams is entirely due to Xiangyun and her husband. Without their extensive preparations, their grandson and granddaughter-in-law might not have achieved what they have today.

Even if Xiangyun hadn't married into the Jiang family, she wouldn't allow anyone to touch Xiaoguai, not even Zhiping and his brother.

These past two days, if she hadn't noticed the undercurrents in her family, many people would have come to them for help. Fortunately, they have some sense of right and wrong and didn't dare to make decisions on their own.

“Now that the results are out, we don’t need them right now, so why don’t we give them all away?” Hua Xiangyun didn’t want people to bother the two elderly people every day because of this, so she thought it better to give them away openly and honestly.

"That's easy to say, but who should we give it to? They're all old neighbors, it's not right to give it to just anyone." Tian Guihua had been thinking about this problem for days. Who should she give it to and how much should she give it to? It always left her feeling unsatisfied.

Hua Xiangyun suggested, "How about we send it to the school?"

“That won’t work either. There’s only one school in our county. How many people can get a spot?” Tian Guihua knew that their county was small, but the people she really had a relationship with were those in these few courtyards. If they were sent to school, who would remember their kindness?

Hua Xiangyun: "...What did Grandpa say?"

"What ideas could he possibly have?" Tian Guihua glanced at the kitchen. "He's been too scared to go fishing these past few days. If he goes out, he'll be surrounded by people, so how could the fish possibly take the bait?"

He did have a talisman given to him by his granddaughter, but the more he had that, the less he dared to act rashly. In such a noisy environment, if fish could still take the bait, then it really must be a ghost...